Apparatus for logging well cuttings during drilling



2 Sheets-Sheet l April 3, 1956 B. w. sr-:wELL

APPARATUS FOR LOGGING WELL CUTTINGS DURING DRILLING Filed March 6, 1952 mz/ou o...

B. W. SEWELL April 3, 1956 APPARATUS FOR LOGGING WELL CUTTINGS DURING DRILLING 2 sheets-sheer 2 Filed March 6, 1952 v QMOGOUMU 0730m/ mnmnmw mm 9.55.@ zoaua @en Z/:Sen'ell (3fm/enter (Z7 www) Cltbor'ne o vm e 1.@ Flin. mm wv ...Q54 Nv om, ev. uw f2 B mw APPARATUS non Looonuo WELL CUTTING'S DUIuNG nnrLLiNG Ben W. Sewell, Tulsa, Okla., assigner to Esso Research and Engineering Company, a corporation of Delaware Application March 6, 1952, Serial No. 275,141

Claims. (Cl. 'i3-153) This invention concerns a novel apparatus for making a continuous log of the formations encountered while drilling a Well bore. More particularly, the invention is concerned with means for logging the drilling mud stream returning to the surface of the earth during the drilling of a well to ascertain the nature of the well cuttings carried to the surface by the mud.

In the drilling of oil wells it is common practice to keep a constant check on the nature ofthe various strata that are encountered, as this enables the geologist to follow the progress of drilling. When a well is being drilled in a proven area, the geologist can tell when the pay sand is being approached by the sequence of the various identified strata. lt is equally important to gL4 the various formations in unproven areas as well as to have an accurate record of stratigraphic conditions, such records being of value when mapping out possible oil elds.

Various methods are used to obtain samples of cuttings carried to the surface with the returning stream of drilling mud so that a log of formation characteristics versus depth can be made. These usually involve diverting a portion of the mud stream into settling boxes from which samples are removed at regular intervals. The collecting of such samples is of course desirable for detailed study by the geologist but at the same time there exists a need for a method of continuously and automatically logging the cuttings returned with the mud as a supplement to periodic removal of samples for visual examination. It is apparent that the cuttings being measured at the top of a well at any given time will not correspond to the structure existing at the bottom of the well at that same instant. The reason for this lies in the fact that there is necessarily a finite time required for cuttings to travel from the drill bit in a well to the earths surface. Coordination of the measurements made on the cuttings from a well and the point in the well from which they are derived, however, may be achieved by any one of several conventional procedures. For example, one method that may be used for obtaining such information is disclosed in U. S. Patent 2,528,955 issued to Hayward.

It is an object of this invention to provide means by which a continuous log of the nature of the cuttings carried by a returning stream of drilling mud can be made. The invention relies upon the ditference in hardness of various types of minerals such as sandstone, limestone and shale, as the nature of the vibrations produced when cuttings of these various minerals come into contact with a vibration producing element will differ. In the simplest embodiment of the invention one or more metal plates are suspended in a stream of the drilling mud so as to provide a tortuous path for the mud, thereby causing the cuttings to strike the plates and produce characteristic sounds for the particular type of mineral comprising the cuttings. It is preferred, however, that the vibrations be produced by continuously crushing the cuttings as they pass through the apparatus.

arent O 2,740,292 lPatented Apr. 3, 1956 The nature and objects of the invention and the manner in which it is utilized will be more fully appreciated from the ensuing description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

`Figure l presents one embodiment of a preferred form of the invention showing a vertical sectional view of an apparatus employing a rotating cone-type crusher for producing the vibrations;

Figures 2 and 3 depict alternative embodiments of the preferred form of the invention, utilizing rollers for crushing the cuttings, Figure 2 being a top plan view of the apparatus and Figure 3 a vertical section on line III-III of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a vertical section of a simpler embodiment of the invention;

Figure 5 is a plan section on line V--V of Figurel 4; and

Figure' 6- is aY schematic diagram of one form of sound recording system that may be used with the invention.

With particular reference to Figure 1 a housing 11 is provided having an inner chamber 12 into which a stream of drillingmud may be introduced through conduit 13. The lowr portion of chamber 12 is of generally conical shape to receive a cone Crusher member 14 supported -on a plate or shelf 15 capable of producing vibrations, the lower tip:v of the cone vcrusher member being held in place by a bearing 16. Cone 14 is sufficiently smaller than the conical portion of chamber 12 so that an annulus 18 is provided through which the drilling mud may pass. The top of cone 14 is held by an eccentric bearing 19 fastened to' vthe shaft of a motor 2t) so that when the motor is in operation crusher member 14 will gyrate Within the conical portion of chamber 12 and crush any cuttings that may be present in annulus 18. The crushing action will generate vibrations in shelf 15 which may be detected bya vibration detector or pick-up 22 and the detected vibration recorded on the chart carried by a sound recorder 23.

An embodiment of the invention in which roller type crushers are employed is shown in Figures 2 and 3. A stream of drilling mud is introduced into a trough 25 that terminates in a chamber 26 Within which are positioned a pair of crushing rollers 27 supported at one end by a supporting plate 28 and at the opposite end by suitable bearings within a gear box 29 through which rotation is imparted to the gears by means of motor 30. The cuttings passing between the rollers will be crushed and the vibrations thereby produced will be imparted to plate 28, detected by pick-up 22 and recorded by sound recorder 23 in the same manner as with the embodiment of Figure 1. The mud that has passed between the rollers will be conducted to the mud pit by means of trough 32.

A simpler embodiment of the invention is presented in Figures 4 and 5, Figure 4 being a vertical sectional view and Figure 5 a plan section on line V-V of Figure 4. A stream of drilling mud is conducted along trough 33 into chamber 35 which is covered by a plate from which are suspended a plurality of curved metal plates 36 which provide tortuous paths for the travel of the drilling mud so that the cuttings suspended in the mud will strike the curved plates as shown in Figure 5. Depending on the nature of the cuttings, characteristic sounds will be produced for different minerals and these sounds will be detected by pick-up 22 and recorded by sound recorder 23.

The nature of vibration pick-up 22 is such that it will convert vibrations into electrical impulses. Such pickups are readily available and need not be described here.

The recording of the detected sound may be eifected by any suitable means that will produce a plot of detected impulses as a function of depth or length. One form of apparatus that may be employed is depicted schematically in Figure 6. Impulses from the vibration pick-up are fed into an amplifier 41, the amplified impulses being used to drive a pen motor 42 which scribes a trace 43 on a record chart 45. The chart is carried by a pair of rollers 46 and 47, roller 46 being rotated in proportion to the depth of drilling by means of shaft 48. The latter is turned by pulley 50 which in turn is rotated `by a cable 51 connected to the traveling block of the drilling rig. Clutch mechanism 53 operated by handle 54 disengages the pulley from the shaft when desired so that the record chart will be moved only when actual drilling is under way.

It is not intended that this invention be limited by the specific embodiments described. The scope of the invention is dened by the following claims.

What is claimed is: Y

l. An apparatus for measuring the properties of cuttings carried in a stream of drilling mud which comprises a supporting framework, a pair of crushing rollers supported by `said framework in close parallel alignment whereby cuttings will be crushed when passed between said rollers, means for rotating said rollers, means for conducting a stream of drilling uid between said rollers,

a vibration pickup supported by said framework, and

means for measuring vibrations detected by said pickup.

2. An apparatus for measuring the properties of cuttings carried in a stream of drilling mud which comprises a rotating cone-type crusher, means for conducting .the drilling mud stream through said crusher whereby the cuttings are crushed, at least a portion of the crusher structure being of a character to vibrate in response to thercrushing action, a vibration pick-up attached to said portion of the crusher structure, and means for measuring the vibrations detected by said pick-up.

3. An apparatus for measuring the properties of cuttings carried in a stream of drilling mud which comprises a conical chamber having an inlet and an outlet for drilling mud, a vibratable supporting shelf positioned adjacent said chamber, a cone shaped crusher member positioned within said chamber andrsupported by said shelf,rsaid crusher being sufficiently smaller than said chamber to dene therewith an annulus to receive a stream of drilling mud, means for eccentrically rolling said crusher member within said chamber whereby to crush particles passing through said annulus, a vibration pickup supported by said shelf, and means for measuring the vibrations detected by said pickup.

4. Apparatus for measuring the properties of cuttings carried in a stream of drilling mud which comprises structure forming a chamber, supporting means, crushing means supported within said chamber by said supporting means and adapted to' crush said cuttings as they are passed through said chamber, said crushing means being of a character to vibrate in response to Vsaid crushing action, a vibration detector attached to said supporting said detected vibrations and means for moving said record medium past said recording means in proportion to the depth of a bore hole from which said stream of drilling mud is obtained whereby a record of said vibrations as a function of bore hole depth is produced.

References Cited inthe iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,214,674 Hayward -Sept. l0, 1940 2,396,935 Walstrom Mar. 19, V1946 2,405,059 Sahmel July 30, 1946 2,422,852 Ratcliife June 24, 1947 2,528,955 Hayward Nov. 7, 1950 2,561,763 Waters et al. July 24, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 475,421 Great Britain Nov. is, 1937 

1. AN APPARATUS FOR MEASURING THE PROPERTIES OF CUTTINGS CARRIED IN A STREAM OF DRILLING MUD WHICH COMPRISES A SUPPORTING FRAMEWORK, A PAIR OF CRUSHING ROLLERS SUPPORTED BY SAID FRAMEWORK IN CLOSE PARALLEL ALIGNMENT WHEREBY CUTTINGS WILL BE CRUSHED WHEN PASSED BETWEEN SAID ROLLERS, MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID ROLLERS, MEANS FOR CONDUCTING A STREAM OF DRILLING FLUID BETWEEN SAID ROLLERS, A VIBRATION PICKUP SUPPORTED BY SAID FRAMEWORK, AND MEANS FOR MEASURING VIBRATIONS DETECTED BY SAID PICKUP. 